St. Louise de Marillac

Shall I start with disclaimers first?

Who am I to write about, much less introduce, our Foundress?
At first thought there are so many other historians, musicians, sculptors, writers, poets and biographers among us that have portrayed her so very well in sundry ways. (I still hold on to that thought of “Who am I?”!) It is only after entering the Daughters of Charity that I grew to love this Louse de Marillac of a mysterious family of origin, of early formative years, of an unknown extended family and of yearnings to follow her heart’s deepest desires. I could say “…late have I loved thee” for want of recognizing her during my own early days in the Daughters of Charity. But then the days and the months and the years exposed me to these wise women who model Louse de Marillac so very well…. these Daughters of Charity as formators, as Spiritual Directors, as wise women figures who teach more by example than any words could convey: as Louise probably did. Given these living examples of Louise, I’ve probably learned even more about her from Grant Writing, Advancement initiatives,  Case Studies, Project research, Proposal preparations and anything else to further efforts to support those whom we serve…….. Our Poorest!

I’ve learned that Louise could never ignore her innate unyielding call to give herself totally to God…...the whispers of her heart could not be ignored nor submerged. Given her own 16^th century of birth this mystical little girl could have grown up uneducated, dependent upon her family’s situation, marry, have children and die. For Louise this could have been her life, but for her “Father’s” claiming her as his natural daughter but not his legal heir. His status allowed for her elite schooling among the nobility as she continued to listen to her heart’s yearnings.

Fast forward to 1635 and Louise is a widow! She meets Vincent de Paul (the rest is history!). So here’s where the Advancement initiatives come into play (what would Louise say?). Overwhelmed with orphans to feed, legend has it that Louise made and sold jam to cover the costs. As needs surfaced, Louise collaborated with others (Friend Raising and Fund Raising!). Legend also tells of Louise making wine out of untended grape fields (pretty creative!) as a new sources of income for growing expenses. Louise’s innate organizational skills with a keen sense of one’s talents were the catalyst in addressing her day’s challenges…so catalyzing that these skills continue for our today! And in the midst of all of this, Louise continued to be urged by the Charity of Christ Crucified in serving: our motto, our tag line for today’s Daughters of Charity.

So!  Lessons for us from Louise de Marillac for today………. Can you

1.    Listen to your heart?


2.    Seek out good advice?


3.    Use your God given talents?


4.    Follow those you serve as they show you what they need?


5.    Use your God given talents to make it happen?

6.    Listen to your heart?

Written by Sister Marge Clifford, D.C.

Love is Our Mission, Love is Our Name

by Sister Lisa Laguna, D.C.

"You tell us that to love God and neighbor is not something abstract, but profoundly concrete: It means seeing in every person the face of the Lord to be served, to serve him concretely. And you are, dear brothers and sisters, the face of Jesus." –Pope Francis Homily, May 21, 2013

"Let us love God, but let it be at the expense of our arms and in the sweat of our brow." –St. Vincent de Paul, V11, L25

"...A deep love for God in this life which will be shown by practicing His goodness, gentleness and charity toward my neighbor." –St. Louise de Marillac, L-A7

It's easy for us to think of "charity" as good works. People work with charities to help others, we have charitable giving, and so on. From a biblical sense and in the minds and hearts of our founders, charity is used in its original way: love—generous love—love of God lived out in us, bearing fruit for others, especially those who are poor. Is this the mission Pope Francis is talking about?

Jesus says it's easy to love those who love us back. He invites us to love our enemies. That's love. That's charity (Luke 6:32–35). "No greater love has a person than to lay down one's life for a friend" (John 15:13). No greater love! That's charity: Love lived out beyond the boundaries of our comfort zones, beyond the frontiers that separate us, beyond those who love us back, beyond those who even recognize our love or sacrifice. Is this kind of love possible? We absolutely believe it is!

This is the charge for all Christians. However, it is our life and our name as Daughters of Charity.

"Therefore, you must live in conformity with the name you bear, since it's God who has given this name to the Company... Notice it was the people who, seeing what you were doing and the service of our first Sisters rendered to the poor, have given you this name... Therefore, preserve it carefully; strive always to have the robe of charity, of which the signs are love of God, love of our neighbor, and love of our Sisters, for fear that God may erase your names from the book of life." –St. Vincent de Paul, VX, C93

Love is our mission. Love is our name.

Today, Pope Francis is challenging us to love in that same way. Love beyond! The theme of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia is "Love is Our Mission"—not a feeling, not only words, but our mission—what we are sent out to do and be, what we do and who we are! When we do love, we are living out the great virtue of charity. Let us keep each other in prayer. Let us pray that we can live out this call to love, to live in charity, to serve Christ in our brothers and sisters. Let us do this in generous love.

We hope to see you in Philly!